Magnolia Bakery Cookbook Series: Corn Muffin

I have "the complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook" for sometime now. It's just now that I started trying recipes from the book.

Second installment to the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook Series - The Corn Muffin. I'm not a fan of corn muffins or the muffin itself. I don't even know what the difference of a muffin and a cupcake (too lazy to Google) is but I want to give it a try. There are differences on the way you make a cupcake and a muffin. The recipe doesn't call for the creaming method. Basically what should be done was to mix all dry ingredients, make a well and pour the wet ingredients in the center. Then mix until just combined – never mind if there are lumps – don't be too "o.c.". When I read the "make a well part", I thought, "Wow, they still do that?" The last time I "made a well" was when my aunt taught me how to bake and I would kneel on a chair just to see what she was doing… it was that long ago.

It looks simple but something tells me it should be more complicated than that. I'm pretty sure I'm missing something but it good thing it turned out okay… well… not that okay since when it rose fairly tall on the oven and when I took it out it just shrunk… or does it really behave like that? It's just that Alyssa and Jennifer forgot to tell me through the book? It's a bit on the rubbery side but then again, I might have overbeaten it. But overbeating is relative, how can you tell when it's time to stop? Up to know that's still my problem. On the plus side, it's not overly sweet (the book said that, no surprises there) and I like the gritty taste of the corn meal. I'm not sure if I'll try to do this again, I'm not a fan of the corn muffin but other muffins I think I have to try just so I can familiarize myself on how to make muffins.




Corn Muffins
from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook


Ingredients
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly


Directions


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 


Grease well 9 cups of a 12-cup muffin tin. 
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients until just combined, being careful not to over mix. The batter maybe lumpy. 


Fill the muffin cups about three quarters full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden or a cake tester inserted into center of muffin comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake.





Happy cupcaking!

Aikko